Chapter 11 – Neve
Chapter 11
NEVE
“ N o. ” The strangled word burst from my lips. “No, no, no !”
I rushed forward, not even bothering to be careful about the glass or the pooled blood on the ground and flung open the drawer I’d hidden the vials inside.
Someone had tossed it. A few others too, judging by how clothing littered the floor or hung partially out of the drawers. And whoever had done so had been looking for the vials filled with Roar’s and my blood.
They’d found them too. Destroyed them.
“Bleeding skies!” I slammed the drawer shut and my fists formed into tight, furious balls.
“Neve? What’s going on? Did they take something?” Vale rushed after me. “How—” He stopped at the edge of the room; his eyes caught on the ground. “Is that your blood?”
I didn’t reply. Couldn’t. I couldn’t even think straight. I was so furious that even my wings burned with anger.
Someone had been in here, someone, no doubt, sent by Roar. He’d known that in his escape from the city, he left behind the vial of my blood. He’d also correctly assumed that I’d taken it. And he’d hired someone to destroy them, thus destroying our deal—or what had been left of it, anyway.
More importantly, if it turned out to be true that he left for no good reason, there was no way I could ever demand he pay for what he’d done. The danger he’d put me in. I could no longer drink the blood that sealed our magical deal.
Not that I’d ever wanted to drink it. Given my past as a blood slave, the idea disgusted me. However, knowing that it had been an option was comforting in a messed-up sort of way.
He’d taken that from me. Roar turned his back on me and broke our deal.
On the nightstand lay my stack of books that the servants had brought from the Lisika suite, along with my clothing and other meager belongings. I grabbed the top one from the pile, spun on my heel, and hurled it at the opposite wall.
“Neve! What’s going on?”
A snarl burst out of me as I hurled another book at the wall, but before I grabbed for a third, the prince’s powerful arms wrapped around me.
“Tell me,” he whispered, pulling me close to his chest. “ Tell me what happened here. Besides the obvious . . . why are you so upset? You’re not bleeding, are you?”
“No,” I murmured, my heart still thundering, my limbs trembling. “No, I’m . . . I—Stars, it’s awful!”
I fell apart, tears cascading down my cheeks.
Vale scooped me up in his arms and strode across the room, glass crunching beneath his boots. Gently, he set me on the bed and sat next to me.
“Please”—he took my hand in his and the warmth of his skin comforted me—“tell me what happened. I can help.”
“Y-y-you can’t,” I whispered. “There’s no way.”
“Maybe I can surprise you.”
He already had. So many times. And yet, I had no doubt that in this matter, Prince Vale would be as helpless as me.
Still, the way he stared at me with those bottomless brown eyes softened my resolve. What was the point of keeping my deal with Roar a secret now? Vale knew so much else, and I was certain he hadn’t been the one to break the vials. He knew of my fake relationship with the Warden of the West, and now it was time that I told him all that had transpired between Roar and me.
“Roar and I weren’t just playing at being engaged so he could avoid being matched. We made a deal. I was to play the role of his fake fiancée while at court, and when we returned to Guldtown, he’d give me safe passage to the Kingdom of Summer. That way, I’d be as far from the vampires as possible.”
He nodded, perhaps already intuiting that if I’d gotten myself into the mess I’d made that I’d also agreed to some sort of deal regarding the vampires. “Go on.”
“We sealed the deal in blood and magic.” I gestured to the pools of blood. “If one was betrayed by the other, they had to drink the betrayer’s blood.”
“Ah.” Vale sucked in a breath. “And what would happen to the person who broke the deal?”
“Crippling pain.”
“I see.” Vale’s nose wrinkled. “Warden Roar still has help in the castle. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to buy a favor, as he’s the richest fae in the kingdom.”
“But breaking into your suite!” I sniffed. “That’s beyond brave.”
“True, but many people heard my father order me to the docks. It wouldn’t have been illogical for them to think I was taking the knight guarding my room too. This might have happened hours ago.”
I gazed down at the blood spilled on the ground. It looked dry.
“I’m sorry that I wasn’t careful enough with my security,” Vale said. “That this happened to you. Had I known, I would have helped you take greater precautions. I will from now on.” His face twisted. “The warden is a snake, Neve. Put nothing past him.”
My teeth dug into my bottom lip. This was so reminiscent of when Roar warned me about Vale. Of course, now I had enough information of my own to make a judgment, but I still had questions.
“Why do you hate him?” I asked. “What exactly happened? ”
Vale blinked. “Excuse me?”
I exhaled a long, shaky breath, trying to calm my nerves. “Roar told me why he dislikes you, and Saga mentioned something happened between you two that made you despise him as well. I’m curious to hear your side of the story.”
Vale’s eyebrows shot up. “What did the warden tell you?”
I swallowed. Before I came to court, this story had colored so much of my perception of Vale. Now that I knew him better, I suspected he’d be ashamed of his past actions. I didn’t want to make him feel bad for abandoning his soldiers, but I desperately wanted to know his side.
“You and Roar were fighting against orc tribes, somewhere in the Ice Tooth Range. He did say that you weren’t friends, even then”—I paused—“but he also said that you left his forces to fight and die in a valley. They were losing, and you looked down from a peak and didn’t help them. Why?”
Vale’s lips parted. “I remember that. We were twenty turns.”
“That’s what he said.”
The prince’s face hardened. “And did he tell you the reason I left his forces in the valley?”
What had Roar said? I was certain I’d asked why Vale had done that and . . . The memory clicked, like a match struck in a darkened room.
“He said he wasn’t sure,” I replied.
One corner of Vale’s lips lifted in annoyance. “Oh, he did. Just not at that moment. He found out later that there was an even larger host climbing the mountainside. My soldiers and I returned down the slope to hold them at bay and finish them off.”
My throat tightened. Roar had, once again, omitted information. My fists clenched. When I’d asked him about that day, I’d been too new to the fae way of skirting the truth to realize. Later, I’d learned, though. After I found out that Roar neglected to mention he’d been secretly feeding me a potion to protect me from the queen’s mind-reading abilities. Had he asked, I would have accepted the potion, but he hadn’t asked. He’d acted like the vampires who’d owned me, assuming he knew what was best for my body. Since that day, I’d become more wary around the Warden of the West.
“I take it Roar left that out?” Vale prompted me out of my rising anger, back to the moment.
“He did.”
Vale’s eyes sought mine. “I may dislike the Warden of the West, Neve, but I’d never leave Fae of Winter in a bind on the battlefield. Not as long as I can swing my sword.”
“I believe that. So you fought down the mountain, fought oncoming forces and won, and that was it?”
“By then, there were smaller orc tribes coming from all directions. My army branched off. And Roar managed to claim victory and survive.”
Yes, Roar had said, “Soon after the army dispersed to take on smaller tribes.”
The snake!
He’d done so well and manipulated my opinion of Vale before we met. All because Roar despised the prince—envied him. And though the two males were, in many aspects, evenly matched, perhaps he even feared Vale?
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “When I got here, I thought so poorly of you, and it was all because of what Roar had told me. It’s why I wasn’t the warmest of fae when we first met.”
Vale’s lips twitched. “Not to sound cocky, but I am pretty unused to females being so standoffish. Though . . . I have to admit, your reaction intrigued me.” He exhaled. “It’s why I was lurking around your corridor the night you arrived. You’d flummoxed me . I’d been half hoping you’d emerge from the Lisika suite—without Roar, of course—so I could get a better read on you.”
“Then I ran right into you!” I shook my head, recalling how I’d flattened myself against his hard chest. “Stars, that was mortifying.”
“Not to mention, tense.”
“You were so grumpy! Probably because you’d been caught!”
“And if you were any colder”—he poked my shoulder—“I would have thought you were made of ice.”
Together, we laughed. The sound of it melted a little of my worry. Yes, Roar had betrayed me yet again, but I’d also learned Vale’s side of the story.
A story that resonated in my heart as the actual truth and made far more sense.
Still, I didn’t plan on letting Roar get away with what he’d done. Neither leaving me here nor twisting his words and preying on my naiveté .
No, the next time I laid eyes on the Warden of the West, I intended to make him pay for all he’d put me through.
Though castle servants would clean it up without argument, we both thought the blood would garner more questions than we were ready to answer. Together, we wiped the blood from the ground and disposed of the glass. We’d finished when I caught sight of the books I’d thrown on the ground, spines up and pages splayed.
I cringed. It was so unlike me to manhandle a precious story.
One by one, I picked up the books, noting one of them was the one Roar suggested to me. The one his older brother, Brogan, loved.
I patted both tomes. “So sorry,” I murmured, wiping dirt off the covers. “Won’t happen again.”
No matter their connection to the conniving warden, I felt bad for treating them poorly. For many turns, books had been one of the few bright spots in my world.
“I’m sorry, but are you talking to a book?” Vale teased.
I turned to find that he’d shed his shirt. My mouth went dry as my gaze scanned his tattoos and the rippling muscles beneath. We needed to wash up for the Courting Festival event soon. Still, couldn’t he warn a lady that he’d stripped?
“I am,” I said haughtily. “Books are my friends. ”
He pressed his lips together, clearly trying not to laugh. “I see.”
“I expect that you’ve spoken to your sword.”
That smug amusement vanished as pink tinged his cheeks. “Well . . .”
“Ha! Caught!”
“ Skelda and I are long-time friends.”
My lips curled. I’d heard that term before but hadn’t put two and two together. “That’s her name, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“High Fae, if I’m not mistaken?” Yvette, my human mother figure in the Blood Court, had taught me High Fae, as well as Vitralic, the vampire language, and English. Though I was not as fluent in the language of fae as I was the other two.
“Yes. It means?—”
“Protector.” The word I’d been searching for materialized. “Fitting.”
“Yes, well, I supposed it helped inspire me to do good.” Vale shrugged, and my gaze caught on how his shoulder muscles moved like water.
Bleeding skies. It should be against the law to look so enticing.
“Don’t you need to wash?” I might not be able to keep my promise about not jumping him if he didn’t leave.
“You’re right. I’ll be quick.” He walked down the short corridor that led to his bathroom.
Once I was alone, I turned to the books again. I had yet to start the one Roar had mentioned. His brother, Brogan’s, favorite. Perhaps the story would be so good it could take my mind off things?
I picked up the book and turned to the title page. But before I could read a word, my gaze caught on something. The book was a fabric-bound hardcover, well-loved over the turns if the rounded, softened edges of the front cover were any sign. Opposite the title page, a black fabric had come apart at the top corner.
I didn’t recall it looking like that before. Had it happened when I’d thrown the book?
And, more importantly, what was poking out of the fabric? I squinted and picked at the fabric.
Paper. There was a piece of paper tucked inside.
Carefully, I shook the book and the paper moved. It was loose, not part of the book at all.
Roar had said he and his brother hid notes in their books. The warden had searched this book in particular for a message after his family died on their journey to the southlands. Had I found one of Brogan's last messages to his younger brother?
My stomach clenched, and I shut the book. No matter how furious I was with Roar, reading such a note felt wrong. Too personal.
And yet, I reached for the book again, but before my fingers grazed the cover, a knock came at Vale’s door.
“Vale? Neve? Are you decent?”
I snorted, recognizing the voice. Saga had come calling.
As Vale was washing, I answered the door and found the pink-haired princess standing before a Clawsguard, a small flask in her dainty hands.
“Come in,” I said. “Vale’s bathing.”
“Seems you might need to as well,” Saga teased and wrinkled her nose. “Did you go running or something?”
I waved her inside and shut the door behind her. “Vale was training me in the way of the sword. I still need to bathe.”
We strolled into the suite. I was glad Vale and I cleaned up the blood and shattered glass. I did not need more questions.
Saga’s eyes widened at the mention of sword-work. “Not a bad idea.”
“You say that like you’re surprised.”
Saga chuckled. “I’m not. Vale’s the least erudite person in our family, but he is still very intelligent. And sensible. I’m more surprised that I didn’t think about him training you.”
“Stars, you’re humble,” I teased and gestured to the flask. “What’s that? Not Dragon Fire, I hope?”
Saga shivered. “The next time I see a bottle of Dragon Fire will be too soon.” She held the flask out to me. “You need protection. More than just physical.”
“And? What is it?”
“The potion that helps keep my mother from your thoughts. It’s called a Mind Rond. It came from the White Tower today, so it’s fresh. It shields your mind from attacks.”
The same one Roar gave me without my knowledge. I almost wanted to deny the Mind Rond potion on that fact alone, but too much was on the line.
Plus, Saga was offering it to me. Not forcing it upon me.
I took the flask. “How much do I drink?”
“At this dose, a mouthful a day,” Saga said. “And truthfully, that isn’t a complete guarantee. Rhistel, Vale, and I take a much stronger Mind Rond potion twice a moon, but if she wants to, Mother can still read our thoughts.”
I recalled that day the queen broke into her sons’ heads. They’d appeared pained.
“It’s easier for her to do it to us, though,” Saga added. “We’re her blood, of her own flesh, so we have a deep connection. She’d have to try hard to do it to you—after you take this, that is.”
“Then I best not give her the chance.”
“Limit contact, no touching, and you should be fine.”
I uncorked the flask and took a swig.
“The flask should last a week, if not a couple of days more,” Saga said.
“What happens when I need more?”
“I’ll make sure you have it. It’s in everyone’s best interest that your true past stays hidden.”
“And you think your mother knows nothing of it?”
“After we took Sir Qildor to the healers’ wing, I spent hours with Mother. We talked about you. Not once did I get the impression that she knew you were a slave.”
“But I’m sure your mother can keep a secret.” After all, she was a mind-reading queen. I could only imagine the things she’d learned with each turn of the sun .
“Yes, but Mother and I are close.” Saga shrugged. “I did my best to feel her out. I’m pretty sure she has no idea.”
It would have to do.
“Thank you, Saga.” I set the flask on the dresser. “I appreciate you looking out for me. For being a friend.”
“I meant it when I said I’d like you as a family member. Never expected it would actually happen. Or quite in the manner that it did, but”—she lifted a delicate shoulder and gave a half smile—“here we are. And I’ll do what I can to protect you from Father’s ire.” She looked away, uncomfortable about bringing up her kin.
I hated that the king was related to Vale and Saga. Both were good and kind, and the king was despicable. That he had ever been different was difficult for me to believe.
Saga cleared her throat. “Well, I guess I’ll see you at the Courting Festival gathering.” She brushed a hand down my arm in farewell and winked slyly. “Do try not to incite more gossip, sister.”